The Race Car that was Tyler Scott

Chapter Nine

He was there. I had been engulfed in darkness. A chilling silence filled the air, the silence that told me no one was coming, no cars came, I wouldn't be saved this time. I tried and tried to wriggle free of the man's clutch, but he struck me. "Move and I'll kill you", I ignored him and continued to struggle, I screamed and screamed. Still no one came. He stabbed me with the glass, he stabbed me over and over...until I moved no more.
I gasped, opening my eyes - their lids heavy with sweat. "Meem!, Oh my God Mimi are you okay?", Toni came running into my room. I was breathing hard, "Deep breaths okay, keep breathing in and out for me, yeah?", Toni's voice was soft. I moved closer to her and buried my head in her shoulder, I sobbed - gasping for air and crying... the hot tears streaming down my cheeks hitting my chest with a frequent tap. She turned to face me and put her chin on my head, "Heyy, hey, it's okay. You're here now...you're safe, I've got you", Her voice was weak and rough but it was comforting. "It was him Toni...it was him - he-he killed me, and no one came, no one Toni...I was all alone", I sobbed, my voice was breaking and strained as the lump in my throat refused to subside - it grew as I tried to speak. "Amelia it was a dream, he's not here, he's not here". I took in a deep breath, the lump in my throat trying to suffocate me.
Toni didn't leave me, she slept next to me - making sure I was okay, she refused to leave me even if it meant she couldn't sleep. As a result I slept without a single thought or concern in my head. When I woke in the morning, Toni had gone downstairs to find something to eat. I put on a hoodie and washed my face with cold water and then trudged down the stairs, into the kitchen. Martha was sitting reading a spelling book and writing on the pages with an HB pencil. Anna was slicing pieces of banana into a magi-mix which already had several dollops of yoghurt in it, she turned to face me. "Heyy Mimi, do you want some of my famous banana smoothie?", she said smiling, imitating an Italian chef. "Sure-", "Amingla!", Martha shouted. Martha had never been able to pronounce my name correctly, Mrs Holt said it had to do with her dyslexia because now aged ten she still called me 'Amingla', I thought it was sweet. "Amingla! Amingla!", she ran up to hug me. Her hands reached out and clasped around my stomach, "Hey Martha you idiot, she's still sore, you'll kill her before she can even have breakfast!", Anna walked briskly up to Matha and pulled her off of me. She squealed. "It's okay Anna really, it's almost gone now, I mean it still hurts but it's fine", I reassured her. "Let us see then", Bea walked into the kitchen holding a riding crop and hat against her side, her jodhpurs were muddy as was her face and she had a piece of hay in her plait. "You've been out then, rolling around in the stables", I said laughing and pointing at her, the others joined in, "well at least I've done something with my day", she directed a mean glare at Toni, "by the way Antonia, Sassy's still out on the hill...she'll be getting fat soon!", We turned to Toni, "Oooo", we said in unison. Toni hated her full name. Bea used it regularly to get a reaction out of her sister. "Bea you moron, you just waste everyone's time by doing that...you could have gotten Sassy down whilst you were getting Gus! For fuck sake!", Toni was enraged. Bea smiled with cheek and guilt written all over her face. "Well then, you'll be glad to hear that Billy brought her down for you, he's in the stables...he'll be back in a second", Bea confessed. The sisters started to throw fruit at each other from across the kitchen island. As they squabbled, Anna inspected my wound. In three weeks it had healed miraculously quickly, there was still a large scab - but the shallower parts of the wound had scarred over. "Have the police come back with anything", Anna asked pulling my top back down over my stomach. "Nope, the bastard was smart - no CCTV in that spot, the cameras just didn't cover the alley way", Anna took a step back - standing up right now, "I'm sorry - but they didn't have a camera on the alleyway?!Where most crimes happen. The alley way!", Anna's hands showed accurately how angry she was. "'Coppers said the creep moved them, that he'd planned what was 'gonna happen", I repeated what the junior officer had told me, when we had gone back in, Anna looked more confused now, "then they must have got him on camera when he was moving them, they must have footage of him somewhere in town?", Anna was now where I was in my questioning, "...And that's where I am".
Martha was back at her chair kicking her feet underneath the table. The tip of her index finger lay between her lips. She turned to Toni, removing her finger ready to speak, "Toni, what's the date today?", Toni looked up from her orange peeling, "uh...the twenty seventh of April". Toni went back to her orange and then slowed. She stopped and looked up at me. I began to shrink out of the room, "It is, isn't it?", she spoke to me from the other side of the kitchen. "Guys is Meem's birthday tomorrow", Toni addressed everyone in the room. I turned and started to walk quickly down the hall until I reached the bottom of the stairs. Toni ran after me. "Happy birthday to you..." she started to sing. I ran up the stairs as she continued. Soon all four girls were chasing after me, singing all the while. I hated my birthday, everyone focuses on you and you don't have a choice. Also everyone else had their parents there with them. Singing whilst their child blew out the candles on the cake that their mother made. It was the one day of the year I thought about them and it made me sad. So I hated my birthday. But the girls loved it and I let them. It was kind of them to care about me like they did and I knew they would never fully understand why I hated my birthday so.
After several minutes of chasing me around the house, Martha caught me and dragged me back down the stairs to the kitchen where we laughed it off. The girls said how they'd bake me a cake and chip in to buy me something. "Really guys, I don't want anything. I don't need anything. Please, you don't have to make an effort", I tried to tell them. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't make an effort?" replied Toni. "Hey Mimi, don't you have that concert thingy at the O2 tonight. The one Tyler asked you to come to?", Bea asked me from inside the cupboard, she was climbing around the shelves in all her mucky gear looking for something to eat. "Bea, what the hell are you doing! Get out of there - now!", Anna could be very authoritative and sent Bea 'tail between her legs' to the other side of the kitchen where she leant against the warmth of the Aga, "...you're all gross and covered in shit", Anna said under her breath. Everyone was silent, waiting for something I wasn't quite sure what, but they were all looking at me. "Well?!", Toni said at last, sending realisation into my brain, "Oh! Yeah that. Eh, I don't think so", Bea butted in, "What?! You have to be shitting me - you're going and I'm mak-", "I'm not going guys. I just don't want to. Concerts aren't my thing and I think I'm 'gonna stay here with you guys, you know. I haven't seen you all that much this Holliday and I've only got two weeks left and I want to make the most of it. And it's my birthday", I said smiling knowing this was a crap excuse. Each one of their jaws dropped; including Martha. "Exactly! You have two weeks left - that's plenty of time with us", exclaimed Anna. "Meem you need to go tonight, you need to get out and have fun, let loose just a bit. You used to be so spontaneous and I don't know what happened at that school - but whatever it is we can all see it's changed you, but we want the old Amelia back. The one who had fun everyday no matter the cost, no matter the situation", Toni said staring at me with sad eyes from across the island.
Their little speech did spark something in me. It made me think of what I'd do if Milly was here, I'd definitely be going if she was here. So what was stopping me - the fact that she was dead? No. So I chose to go.
I came back from my thoughts to the conversation in the kitchen. The four sisters sat and stood in their positions waiting, expecting. "Okay fine", they all leapt up celebrating, it really shook me we were all laughing and then my phone started to buzz on the counter. I went to pick it up. "Tyler", I spoke first. "So?!", he was excited on the other end of the phone, "Ugh, I'm coming!", he laughed at me and how negative I sounded. "It won't be so bad, I'll bring some ear muffs for you if you want?", we both laughed, "No no I'm coming and I'll actually try to enjoy myself", he chuckled. "Okay then, well it starts at six and there's a train from you at one. I'd get your skates on", I could hear his smile against the phone. It sounds weird but I really could; I could feel it.
I ran upstairs and grabbed some random things: a hoodie, a tooth brush, some smarter shoes and pair of black jeans. I stuffed it all into a bag. I opened it again hastily, grabbed my makeup and shoved it into the remaining space at the top of the bag. I had already done my makeup that morning and didn't need to waste anymore time. I ran downstairs and struggled to push my feet into Toni's white Adidas. "Speed not haste!" Bea called to me as she walked down the corridor. I sat down on the floor and put the shoes on slowly. They went on without a problem, I shouted down the corridor back at Bea "Fuck off", the pause between our two remarks, knowing that I had listened to her, made her laugh aloud.
I picked up my bag and walked to the door red-faced and out of breath  Anna walked behind me with a set of car keys in her hand. "Ready? Cute dress by the way", she looked me up and down.
I was wearing a grey hoodie over the top but the dress was hers, it was back and short with spaghetti straps. It was tightly fitted and showed off my figure well. In my opinion I had no figure; I was a tree trunk. But according to Toni we all think we're ugly and others are pretty it's just what comes with being a girl. Anna had told me before that I had an amazing figure and how she was jealous. I admit I had big boobs but that was all I knew because it was a given fact. As for my arse, I had heard many people comment on it before, of how theirs were flat and natural and mine was obviously not real. Although I disagreed that I had a good bum, how exactly was a seventeen year old orphan meant to get herself plastic surgery. Guess that never crossed their minds. I thought I was too lanky and bony and as for my height. Everyone commented on that. I was short and I was well aware of that.
Black dresses are easy and safe, I had always thought. Although I'd seen many girls much paler than I, try to wear them. The colours just contrasted too much and literally made them look like they were glowing. My skin tone was dark olive and I had light brown hair. I liked my hair. It was interesting. It was brown and had blond highlights some bits were really dark, most of it was more light and I had a few ginger strands underneath it all. Many people dyed their hair this colour but I was lucky, I had been born with it. I took my bobble out and let my hair fall onto my shoulder and down to just above my elbow. I ran through it with my fingers to check for knots, I'd washed it the night before and so it wasn't so bad, it felt like silk. My hair was naturally straight but having slept with it still wet it had gone wavy, like beach waves.